The Bamboo Tree

I love this story. Yet, all of this requires one thing – faith. The growers of the Chinese Bamboo Tree have faith that if they keep watering and fertilizing the ground, the tree will break through. Well, you must have the same kind of faith in your bamboo tree, whether it is to adopt children (me), win a Grammy, raise well-adjusted children, run a successful business, find a good man/woman or whatever it is. You must have faith that if you keep making the calls, honing your craft, reading to your children, reaching out to your spouse that you too will see rapid growth in the future. Now I’m in the midst of this and I know I will see growth. There has been too much blood, sweat and tears that has gone into this journey.

 This is the hard part for most of us and it’s the hardest part for me. We get so excited about the idea that’s been planted inside of us that we simply can’t wait for it to blossom. My biggest problem is I have to let go of what I think it should be. Therefore, within days or weeks of the initial planting, we become discouraged and begin to second guess ourselves, or worse, quit.

But sometimes, in our doubt, we dig up our seed and plant it elsewhere, in hopes that it will quickly rise in more fertile ground, in the pursuit of greener pastures. More often than not, we are greatly disappointed when their Chinese bamboo tree doesn’t grow any faster in the new location. Other times, people will water the ground for a time but then, quickly become discouraged like myself. They start to wonder if it’s worth all of the effort. This is particularly true when they see their neighbors having success with other trees. I have told the Lord on numerous occasions that I didn’t think my heart could take anymore. He always reminds me that I am worthy and He’s got this by putting in front of me encouraging loving people. So we keep watering and fertilizing our dream, it will come to fruition, just like the Chinese Bamboo Tree. It may take weeks. It may take months. It may even take years, but eventually, the roots will take hold and my Chinese bamboo tree will grow. And when it does, it will grow in remarkable ways.

 I truly believe that our dream will come true and will be more beautiful than we imagine. We all have seen this happen so many times. Look at Bill Gates. Gates didn’t seem very successful after dropping out of Harvard and starting a failed first business with Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen called Traf-O-Data. While this early idea didn’t work, Gates’ later work did, creating the global empire that is Microsoft. And what about, Harland David Sanders perhaps better known as Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame. See Sanders had a hard time selling his chicken at first. In fact, his famous secret chicken recipe was rejected 1,009 times before a restaurant accepted it. Well, I have to remember I have a Chinese Bamboo Tree inside of me and you have a Chinese Bamboo Tree inside of you just waiting to break through.


I have a prayer request. I will be undergoing surgery in St. Louis for issues regarding my Endometriosis. Please pray for a successful surgery and healing. Hopefully this will be one of the many breakthroughs for me and Tim. Tim's always by my side. What a blessing that is.